Making Friends
by Robinson019
Summary: M/M. In which Sai takes lessons from a book on how to make friends.


Making Friends

Naruto ran swiftly, darting through giant oaks and sturdy firs. All that could be heard along the wide expanse of the forest was the light whisper of his sandals brushing the dewy grass. His focus remained on his target up ahead and because of this he failed to notice the shadow of a young man mirroring his movements.  
>Suddenly, a kunai sliced the air from his left only to find home in his shoulder. His scream was loud, sharp and it disturbed the peace of the forest, immediately after, his body disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The branches above rustled, from there Naruto was able to see the outline of the male emerge from a collage of bamboos and tree branches.<p>

"Impressive Naruto-kun",'_...complimenting is a good technique to present yourself as a friendly and kind person. Your partner will think well of your character. Use a smile to increase the charm of your compliment.' _The alabaster lips of the Konoha anbu was stretched to the far corners of his face and the normally wide, opaque eyes were squinted in forced sincerity.

"Hehe, I've been training at Toad Mountain with Toad-obachan", Naruto grinned openly, obviously pleased by compliment. Naruto jumped from where he was perched to stand facing Sai, while there he calculated the valuable minutes he would inevitably waste temporarily disabling him.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!", shadow clones appeared on either side of him from a plume smoke, each holding a kunai blade at the ready. Sai expected this, he reached into the pouch resting on his hip to draw out the rice scroll waiting. In seconds he had the fierce temple lion lifting from the scroll as defence against the sailing blades.

Having Sai distracted enabled Naruto to escape to resume his pursuit of the target now a mile ahead. His legs became a blur as he ran. Behind him, Sai was having no trouble defeating the shadow clones. A few flicks of his brush later, Sai was atop of his ink bird. He flew above the trees and scanned the ground for Naruto. He was aware that he should be making things difficult for the blonde but he never contemplated that he would be the one experiencing difficulty.

Every day he was beginning to notice the subtle change in Naruto's strength. He was just not sure what he thought of it. Or more specifically, the reason behind it. Sai had never known what to think of Sasuke other than what he was told and it was even more hard considering he was never allowed to feel until now. Their brief encounter that time gave him his first real taste of fear but still Sasuke had remained closed and left no impressions. It left him skeptical as to why Naruto would go to such lengths to save him, could one care for another so much despite their glaring faults? The manual had said as much but again he was dubious.

The moving figure at the corner of his eye broke his contemplation and immediately he instructed the creature beneath him to swoop in lower. Naruto felt the change in wind velocity and sped up, he was nearly there. The sudden weight on his back caused his legs to give way and he fell; banging his chin on the dirt floor. The air in his lungs rushed from him in an 'oomph!'. No one moved to get up. For Sai, the smell of Naruto's hair had him not only rooted but inching closer. Toad oil. The heavy musk had him ensnared and left a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You look comfortable", the teasing tone had the boys scrambling up off the ground, Naruto warm-cheeked and slightly flustered, Sai noticed and it puzzled him. Kakashi stood a meter away, beside him was a small brown pug adorned by a Konoha forehead protector, and watched the boys awkwardly brush the dirt from their clothes. He did not the miss the uncomfortable tension that had now settled in between Naruto and Sai nor the strange moment they had shared minutes ago, although he would not make comment yet. He was hoping by having them train together, they would understand each other and thus lessening the distrust that hindered them in missions.

"Well done Sai, Pakkun managed to get here without being caught by Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun, I'm afraid you've failed this one." Naruto frowned but said nothing.

"I want you both here at the same time tomorrow. Sakura will not be joining us as she has been issued with a mission by the Hokage herself" With that said Kakashi prepared himself to leave. Naruto and Sai waited silently as Kakashi disappeared into the thick foliage to start making their way back to centre of the village.

The harsh frowns line seemed to have sunken further into Naruto's face which could have only been the result of Kakashi's announcement. Although Naruto did his best to ignore him, Sai's presence remained, almost etched into his skin like the heated ache of a freshly made bruise. When he upped his pace Sai did the same and this stood as they neared the village gates.

"What do you want, Sai?" Naruto asked, exasperation heavy in his voice.

"You miss Sakura-san." Naruto said nothing. "I read that it can be dishonest if you do not make your feelings known to other person"  
>Naruto felt his cheeks warm at the bluntly made statement.<p>

"I don't know what your talking about"  
>"You must care for her a lot. Like Saskue, although here I question your ability on judging good character." Naruto was silent, the only sign that he had heard was the tightening of the skin along his jaw.<p>

"Nee, Naruto-kun, how about we become friends and you forget about Sasuke-san?" he smiled as genuinely as his face would allow, unfortunately it was not enough. Naruto whirled around and with a growl, pushed Sai vehemently so that he landed on the forest floor with a loud thud. Before he could react Naruto was already atop of him, arm drawn back and ready to strike, Sai anticipated this and his arms instinctively went up to cover his face. The blow didn't come. As if suddenly remembering himself the anger in his Naruto's eyes cleared and the tension in his assaulting arm fell.

"Just...shut up. You who think friends can be forgotten so easily doesn't deserve any" He lifted himself from his position and again made his way back to the village, leaving Sai with what he recognised as mixed feelings of guilt and jealousy.

He really does try to refrain from provoking Naruto but some sick part of him always took...pleasure from seeing Naruto react. He would always get this fierce look tinged with sadness in his eyes whenever Sasuke was mentioned and maybe that was apart of the problem as well. Even though he doesn't like to acknowledge it, he was jealous of Sasuke or rather the memory of him and that made the realisation even more bitter to swallow. He was competing against a reminiscence and the thought of it made him, for lack of a better word, displeased with himself. With a breathy sigh he picked himself from the ground and too made his way back.

The next day, training did not go so well. Kakashi wanted them to learn the other's fighting style, predict each other's move even, so that against a common enemy they would be able to fight as one. In order to do that they had to spar. Naruto was very focused, to the point where he looked serious, so much so his usual humour and laid-back attitude could be have been a lie.

Hand to hand combat was also not Naruto style but every punch, kick, jab that he threw was eerily precise and with enough emotion behind it to hurt if they were to connect. This was not lost on Sai and it made the guilt he had been feeling squat like dead weight in the pit of his stomach. Perhaps it was this that distracted him enough to let Naruto land a solid punch to his left eye. He jerked back on impact and pain blossomed, immediately spreading to the surrounding skin, for a second or two he felt momentarily blind. When tried to open his eyes the assaulted one felt fat and throbbed like an erratic pulse.

"You alright there Sai?" Looming over him were the faces of Naruto and Kakashi, one blank and the other slightly concerned.

"Umm...yes, I think so." and then he was being lifted to a standing position with arm curled over the expanse of Kakashi's shoulder.

"Naruto, I want you to take Sai to see a medic. I have some business to take care of so I'll cut this short and see you tomorrow." before he could object he was already being passed over to lean on Naruto, there wasn't much he could do for the way his vision swam he guessed he would be back on the ground without the support. Naruto grumbled and hefted Sai to get a better grip on his waist which effectively shoved Sai's head into the crook of his neck. The familiar sent of toad oil had his insides stirring uncomfortably.

"What are you doing?" Naruto had felt the brush of Sai's nose along his neck and it flustered him for reasons he could not fathom.

"I like the way you smell...like toad oil and grass"..._after feelings are confessed, follow it with a gesture for emphasis and this may be a handshake, hug or a kiss depending on the mood of the situation._ Sai pursed his soft plump lips and placed a kiss to Naruto's neck, from there he kissed his way up to lick his earlobe. Naruto's breath hitched in his throat and his heart slammed violently against his ribcage. At that moment he felt hot and very confused; he did not feel disgusted by what Sai was doing in fact it was the opposite but at the same time he knew it wasn't right so he made a half-hearted attempt to push him away.

"Sai...stop. Stop now." he nudged gently with his elbow. "Ah, forgive me Naruto-kun. You must have hit me harder than I thought."_...in the unfortunate event that your partner is ungratified, make a sufficient and plausible excuse to diffuse the situation._ He knew it was foolish to think Naruto would welcome his flirtations and even so he couldn't quite tamp down on what was most likely the feeling of rejection willing it's way inside him.

"It's okay. Let's just get you to the hospital." said Naruto, non the wiser to Sai's inner turmoil.

That night Naruto lay in his bed going over the events of the day. The lazy moonlight turning his blond hair silver, altogether giving him that ethereal appearance that was hard to see in sunlight. He thought that if he could make some sense of what happened his mind would be satisfied and allow him the pleasure of sleep, though that did not look realistic anytime soon.

To say Sai confused him would be an understatement, was he trying to see how far he could push Naruto before he snapped? Or was it his usual misguided attempts at bonding? Perhaps he was playing a joke? As soon as he thought it, he brushed it aside as laughable; to put it bluntly, Sai was socially inept, anything resembling humour was lost on him.

He sighed and shifted to lie on his back as if the change in position would alleviate his frustration. His hand unconsciously found it's way to side of his neck, where earlier that day he discovered was a sensitive spot, just touching it made him shiver as though Sai was in his room, next to him on his bed, repeating those same actions that made his stomach clench uncomfortably. But he had enjoyed it, it was this above all he could not overcome. Whatever Naruto Uzumaki was, it was not gay, he denied. It was such strength in this belief, a resolution achieved, that made him finally drift off into a much needed slumber.

He did not see Sai for two weeks after that and neither did he turn up for first Naruto was suspicious as to why and jumped to the conclusion that he was working with Danzo again. As quickly as it came he decided, no, if he was going to work with Sai then he would have to start trusting him.

Naruto, however, did not take into account that Sai may have been purposely avoiding him although, he referred to it as 'giving space' as the book had instructed. Another reason he was less likely to admit was the physical cringe, the sting he felt resonating still after being denied. Nevertheless, he was intrigued by it, it was almost refreshing to experience a new emotion even though it wasn't one of the more pleasant ones. Naruto-kun must surely hate him and probably never wanted to see his face again, an occurrence the book warned of.

So imagine his surprise when he heard his name being called from a distance. He stopped and listened; the tone was indisputably boyish but the voice was all the throatiness and growl of a man. He turned to see Naruto standing there amidst the crowd of bustling people, his tall sinewy frame stretched above some of the tallest men there. The dust and noise of the environment did little to distort his image, even when he weaved in and out of the people with the grace of a rhinoceros, all Sai saw was radiance. That drive to achieve what he set out to do without a care for his well-being. It shocked him to have such a strong reaction, the onslaught of feelings nearly too much to comprehend, but for now he couldn't care less, he was just... happy to see Naruto.

The possibility of eating ramen at Ichiraku's would have normally had him excited but he was too preoccupied with staring at Sai. It was suddenly like seeing him in a new light, every he failed to notice became magnified. The smooth, pale skin, those full lips, the toned body. The exposed mid-section in fact had him curious as to what was under the cover of clothing surrounding his legs, it was this that had him blushing furiously.

"Is it too spicy?"

"What...uh, yes a little" he stammered through and laughed nervously.

"Shall we switch then?"...sharing one's possessions with your partner is often a good way to strengthen your relationship.

"Uh, sure" Naruto grinned, surprisingly pleased.

"Oh wait, you have something on your face" Sai said, then proceeded to wipe it from the corner of Naruto's mouth only to then lick the substance from his finger. Naruto yelped, sprang himself from the bench and then immediately clutch the side of his face whilst pointing an offended finger at Sai. Sai for his part smiled, very much unrepentant. Naruto saw this and sighed, his only option was to sit back down and finish his meal.

They sat their together in a companionable silence until it was time to go.

From then on everything pertaining to their ninja duties went smoothly, on the surface.

They were both in a constant state of arousal and it made them irritable, though Sai wouldn't complain; it was a new experience after all.

However, at times he could not deny the frustration he felt at having no idea on how to relieve himself, he found some books very limited. Naruto was slowly coming to terms with his...attraction towards Sai. He decided that it didn't make him fully gay, just gay for Sai when he thought of Lee and himself in a similar situation.

It was becoming much harder to control himself, for instance the time when Sai accidentally dropped his paint brushes into the lake near one of the training grounds. Without thought he dived in to retrieve it and came back out soaked, his clothing sticking to him like a second skin. It made the outline of his hardened nipples easy to see which got Naruto so worked up he thought his head would explode. The fierce ache between his legs made it difficult to walk but he managed to place himself behind a tree until he had calmed down.

Kakashi meanwhile, watched everything from the sidelines and finally decided, enough was enough, thus setting his plan into action. After having them do attack formations which they stumbled with the awkwardness of Genins for an hour, he called them over.

"We've been given a low rank mission to retrieve stolen items from a camp of bandits. They are set up a few miles outside the village and we estimate will be on the move in a few hours time. I have not been given full details on what the items are or how strong these guys are, so be careful. I will also not be joining you so take this as an opportunity to practice what you have been learning. Good luck, you leave in an hour."  
>It was very sudden but part of being a ninja was to be ready at any given moment so they both went home to prepare.<p>

Standing just inside the village gates waiting for Sai gave Naruto the opportunity to think about the upcoming mission. He was filled with anticipation but was also nervous; alone with Sai. This was the state of his thoughts, it was incessant and prodded him in the gut like hunger pains. He paced up and down, kicking up dust as his began to conjure up scenarios where a naked Sai was the main feature. He was so lost in his musings that he didn't hear Sai approach him from behind nor did he notice when Sai bent close to whisper in his ear. "Shall we leave?"

Naruto gasped and jumped, irrationally thinking that Sai may have somehow overheard his thoughts. "Sai! Don't do that!" he scolded.

"Why?"

"Because...well, just because. Now come on or else we'll never get to those bandits."

Sai shrugged and adjusted his pace so that he was running in line with Naruto. A few hours later they were on the outskirts of the bandits camp, they hadn't been noticed yet which was good according to the plan. So far they've counted twelve men; four on watch, three in one tent and two in another while the rest tended to their horses. From what they could see, every man had at least two forms of weaponry on their persons. They guessed the stolen items were in one the wooden boxes being attached to the horses.

"Ready?"

"Yes"

"Let's go"

They charged the camp from shadows created by the trees, Naruto silently and swiftly disabling the guards at front whilst Sai took care of the ones at the back. He then moved to approached the set of bandits guarding the boxes when suddenly he heard a shout from behind. The whole camp erupted in noise as they were screams of anger and pain, of weapons clashing. Shit! The guys were alerted and they turned to face him with their weapons at the ready.

They both rushed at him, faces snarling. He crouched low and elbowed the closest one in the stomach who stumbled back but quickly regained his footing and charged at him again while Naruto swept the other's leg causing the bandit to fall on the ground. Naruto turned and pulled out a kunai from his sleeves to block the blade aimed at his face. Sparks flew, joined by the high pitched sound of metal on metal. With his other arm Naruto punched the bandit in his face then followed through with a sharp kick to his chin, knocking him unconscious.

"Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu!" Naruto saw the bandit perform the hand signs and purse his lips just in time to miss being singed by the soaring flames. It caused sweat to break out on his forehead which he quickly swiped at as if an annoying insect.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Clones of himself appeared on either side and ran towards his opponent, firing out kicks and punches which the bandit tarried but he was not quick enough block the finishing blow to his face. He flew back from the force straight into the boxes, scaring the horses and ultimately causing them to dump cases on the ground with a resounding cringed as heard the tell-tale sound of glass breaking.

He looked over to see Sai knocking the last of the bandits unconscious, those who were awake scrambled to their feet and ran deeper into the forest. Naruto walked towards the boxes and assessed the damage; one was leaning on it's side, the corner of it's roof smashed in to unpend broken glass and a thick syrup liquid the colour of strawberries. On closer inspection it smelled like a strawberry flavoured confectionery heavy with sugar. When he tried to lift the box he sliced his hand on the glass, wincing, he drew his hand back but not before some of the liquid seeped into the open wound. It stung viciously and it had him cursing.

From his left shoulder Sai observed, silently focused, he took Naruto's hand, turned him then placed the sliced finger into his mouth. Naruto watched, eyes heavy-lidded and panting slightly, as Sai licked and sucked at his finger. He had never seen such a simple act become so totally erotic. He felt he should object but the task proved to be too difficult and besides, he would be lying to himself.

"Saliva is a natural form of antiseptic but to stop it from being infected we need bandage it." Naruto nodded, unable to form words, whilst Sai reached into his pouch for a cut of bandaging cloth.

On their way back, the sky began to slowly fill with dark, robust clouds. The air became dank and humid with the foreboding of rain, the smell of soil thick clogging their nostrils. Looking out of the corner of his eye, Sai saw Naruto gradually start to lag behind him. When Naruto reached a meter behind him, he stopped in front of the blonde and studied him. His cheeks were flushed and his pupils were dilated. He was panting as if the short run exerted him.

"What's the matter?" Sai asked knowing logically there must be something wrong judging by the way Naruto looked.

"Huh?...oh I'm fine. We need to get going before we're caught in the rain" he evaded, then when Sai moved to touch his forehead, slapped his hand away.

"Don't!" then ran ahead, leaving Sai puzzled. The truth was Naruto didn't think he would be able to keep up pretences if Sai touched him, he was already having enough trouble moving as it is. His entire body was highly sensitised and he could not make out the cause of it. Everything he looked at was a cause for arousal. The tickles of leaves brushing against him, the humid air raising his body temperature, it was all so deliciously frustrating. Maybe it was the liquid from the boxes. Could it have contained some kind of aphrodisiac?

The clouds decided by the time they reached the village gates, it was the moment to dispense fat water droplets that had them soaked in seconds but not even this did anything to lessen Naruto's arousal. After giving the boxes to the gate attendants, Naruto made a dash for home and it was then that Sai grabbed a hold of his wrist, causing him to groan silently.

"Naruto-kun, would you like to come over to my house?"_'...invitations such as these shows your partner that you are comfortable in their presence and is a sign of trust.'_

No, no, no, his mind screamed but incredibly he heard himself say "Yes".How could he have said no when Sai stood there with his hair plastered to his forehead, sucking on the corner of his lip, rain running down his bare mid-section. He shook his head to snap out of it,surely he's gone mad with lust.

Inside Sai's house, Naruto stood rigidly by the door for fear of doing something irrational while Sai went in search of towels. He came back naked with except for a towel around his waist, rubbing his hair dry. Naruto was having a seizure, there was no other way to describe it; the erratic heart beats and the shortage of breath. Cluelessly, Sai walked into his kitchen.

"I don't have much but would you like a drink?" when he got nothing as a reply he turned to look at Naruto who stood there imitating a frightened deer. He walked over and simply looked him.

"If you don't remove your wet clothing, you'll catch a cold." Without invitation Sai began to unzip Naruto's jacket, removed it then started for his shirt. When Sai instructed, Naruto lifted his arms and remained silent as his shirt was also removed. Sai took the towel from Naruto's hand, using it to wipe the moisture from Naruto's chest.

When he brushed the towel across Naruto's nipple, he whimpered and the nub visibly hardened, curious, Sai did it to the other one and got a similar response. He wondered if Naruto was sick; his eyelids seemed to struggle to keep open and he was breathing harshly through his parted lips. Oddly, Sai found it stimulating seeing Naruto in this state, it made him want to reach out and caress his face, maybe taste his lips. However, if he really was sick, it best to make sure he was dry first and so stooped down and began to remove his trousers when he glanced up he saw that Naruto's boxers were tented.

"Oh, so you have the same problem too?" What in the hell? Naruto had trembled at the inevitability of the situation but whatever his addled mind had been expecting; laughter, disgust, embarrassment to name a few, it was not this.

"Sai, what are you-"

"When I've dried your legs, I'll help you with that. It's really very easy." Naruto looked down at Sai and on his face was focus and determination as he caressed his legs with the towel, making his toes curl. Jesus, he needed relief soon or he really just might die. No sooner had thought this did Sai look up and grab the corners of his boxers, his stomach clenched in anticipation and his cock seemed to lengthen further in it's desperate need to be touched.

When Sai finally did, he cried out, helpless and needy, the sheer relief at finally being touched seemed almost too much and his eyes turned to half-lidded slits. He was trembling hard and full of tension at the same time. His hips began to thrust on their own volition, wanting, no needing, friction. Sai gripped him harder, applying controlled pressure and he felt the precum being milked from his slit.

Then Sai's hand began to move and he groaned forcefully. Sai was whispering something but he was made both deaf and blind by pleasure, though if he tried it sounded like; "...firm grip then stroke upwards from base to tip, when there, use your thumb to stroke the head. This will be enjoyable for your partner has the head is sensitive..."

"Oh God!" he whimpered,he didn't think it was possible to be this turned on, but here he was getting his head blown off to Sai quoting a sex manual.

"...introduce other forms of stimulation such as..." Sai rubbed his nipples with the tip of fingers, tugging them into hard points, then got bolder and bent his head to suckle on his poor, swollen nipples. Naruto cried out and thrashed in between Sai's hard body and the wall.

"...Depending on your partner's reaction, increase the speed of your strokes" by this time Naruto was babbling incoherently but didn't fail to notice the hardness of Sai's cock rubbing furiously against his thigh. It was so hot and firm he couldn't resist; he grabbed Sai's cock and began to stroke in time with Sai.

"Naruto-kun!" his rhythm faltered for a second as he blacked out momentarily but resumed when his vision cleared.

"Sai, kiss me, please, please..." Sai bent his head and tentatively touched his lips to Naruto's. It wasn't nearly enough. Naruto growled and curled his other arm around Sai's neck, pulling him closer to get more of his sweet mouth. He needed more. He used his tongue to part Sai's lips, inside it roamed, tasting, consuming as he sucked on Sai's own. It was amazing, it was slowly killing Sai and he never wanted it to stop.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Naruto was so close he just needed...Sai's thumb flicked across the head and there it was. His head stretched back, his whole body bowing and convulsing, his world shattered, he was thrumming and he conveyed the magnificence of it by screaming as his release poured out of him into Sai's waiting hands. Sai watched, felt, his entire focus on Naruto's face so it was too late to notice until the exact moment when his orgasm ripped through him; fierce and unforgiving as he cried out helplessly.

They stood there panting and shuddering through the aftershocks when Sai asked breathlessly, "Did that help at all?"

Naruto stared; this guy was fucking unbelievable.


End file.
